Parade and warm weather draw Bayonne residents to celebrate St. Patrick's Day

Andrew Steadman/The Jersey JournalThe Mullane family of Bayonne watched the parade from near 16th St. From left are Matt, Michael, Ella, Hope and Summer Mullane.

The streets of Bayonne were filled with a sea of green today as residents showed their St. Patty's spirit.

Green-garbed parade goers lined Broadway early Sunday afternoon for Bayonne's 2012 St. Patrick's Day Parade. The same unseasonably warm weather that blessed Jersey City's parade last weekend was back again, drawing large crowds to the parade route between 5th and 40th Streets.

Second Ward Council Member Joseph Hurley said the crowd that gathered to
watch the procession may have been the biggest in recent memory.

"I've been marching as a firefighter for 25 years, and this is one of the largest crowds I've seen," Hurley said.

After a slightly chilly morning, the sun broke through the clouds over Bayonne a little after 1 p.m. Bayonne resident and native of Ireland Sean Neary, the parade Grand Marshal, said the good weather and turnout capped an exciting past few weeks for him.

"It's been an awesome experience," Neary said. "It's just a great honor to represent Bayonne."

Neary's mother, Maureen, even flew in from Ireland to see the parade and support her son.

"It was wonderful, even nicer than the New York parade," Maureen Neary said, adding the Bayonne parade was free from the jostling of large crowds at the New York parade.

First Ward Council Members Agnes Gillespie said the parade procession itself had the numbers to match the crowds on the sidewalks. In all, the parade featured more than 2,000 marchers from 70 organizations.

"Lots of contingents responded to the request to march," Gillespie said. "It's a fantastic day with wonderful weather."

Three generations of the Mullane family were on hand to watch the parade. Mother Summer Mullane said Hope, 7, Ella, 6, and Michael, 3, were waiting to see their father marching with the Bayonne Fire Department. Grandmother Pat Mullane said the number of parade goers this year was more than what she was used to seeing at the Bayonne parade.

"Usually you don't see that many people out," Pat Mullane said.

Sisters Siobhan O'Connor, with daughter Niamh, 6, and Louise O'Connor Delaney, with daughters Sarah, 10, and Hannah, 7, watched the parade from near 25th St. While everyone is Irish on St. Patrick's Day, Delaney said that's even more true for her family.

"We're actually Irish, like ones from Ireland," Delaney said, adding she moved to the States from Ireland 19 years ago.

O'Connor said the family originally hails from Ballyhaunis, County Mayo, Ireland, where Grand Marshal Sean Neary also lived.